History of Radio
For more than 100 years radio has informed and entertained billions of people around the globe.
In this section we’ll (briefly) explore how radio came to be, why it became so popular, and how it has lasted for more than a century and remains relevant today.
The beginning…
Marconi paves the way
In 1899, Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi used electromagnetic waves in the real world. Starting in his backyard, and then astounding all by telegraphing the results of the America’s Cup from an ocean-based ship to a station on land in New York. While the transmission was only “dots and dashes” it laid the groundwork for radio broadcasts.
First human voice heard on radio
After years of experimenting physicist Reginald Fessinden sent the first broadcast of the human voice and music on Christmas eve 1906, from his station at Brant Rock, MA. The broadcast, heard as far away as Virginia, consisted of a phonograph recording of Ombra mai fu (Largo) by Handel, Fessenden playing O' Holy Night on violin, singing Adore and be Still by Gounod, and reciting a Bible verse.
Radio innovation happens fast
Radio technology grows quickly. Lee De Forest’s Audion receiver allowed radio frequency signals to be amplified dramatically in 1907. De Forest’s radio program, broadcast from the NY Metropolitan Opera was among the first entertainment programs to air, around 1910. The first commercial radio station KDKA, in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania went on the air in 1920.
Listen to a recreation of KDKA’s first broadcast.
National networks created
In 1926 the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) formed the first national radio network called the National Red Network. NBC’s Blue Network would follow soon after (later to be sold off to form ABC). The Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) network launched in 1927.
NBC’s famous chimes, still used today, heard here through a microphone of the same era.
Regulatory body created to deal with radio proliferation
In 1927, the Federal Radio Commission (later replaced by the FCC) was formed after passage of the Radio Act of 1927. The act gave the government more oversight over licensing amd mitigating radio signal interference. It is also where the concept of stations operating in the public interest was born.
Today, radio broadcasters are regulated under the FCC’s Media Bureau.
Government sees use for radio
Demonstrating the power of radio’s “one to many” distribution model, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered the first of his “fireside chats” on radio in 1933.
Roosevelt used these radio addresses to discuss policies of his administration and address the nation. Roosevelt’s press secretary said of radio, “it cannot misrepresent or misquote. It is far-reaching and simultaneous in releasing messages given for transmission to the nation or for international consumption.”
“The Golden Age” 1930-1950s
Radio Dramas
From the 1930s and into the 1950s, radio dramas - plays performed by a cast, complete with sound effects (see foley artists) proliferated on radio. The most famous radio drama is Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds, adapated from a novel by H.G. Wells in 1938.
The drama was broadcast in a series of faux news reports chronicling a martian invasion of Earth. The performance was said to have incited a panic, as listeners switched over when the popular Chase and Sanborn Hour’s first sketch was completed. They picked up the War of the Worlds broadcast after the broadcast said it was a piece of fiction.
During WWII
Radio played a huge part in World War II. Americans at homereceived news updates from the front via radio. The government, like in FDR’s “fireside chats” used radio to gain and maintain support for the war effort.
Radio’s place as a source of information continues to present day.
This CBS piece talks about radios important role in World War II.
Post-WWII
While music has always been a part of the radio landscape, after World War II, music became more frequent as dramas became less prevalent.
The “Top 40” format, though not called that until the 1960s, was created to air the most popular 40 songs of the time. Credited with its invention in 1951 is Omaha, NE station owner Todd Storz at KOWH.
Radio becomes portable
In 1954, the Regency TR-1, the first commercial radio to use transistor technology allowed radio (and music) to become portable. Sony would later release the smaller and cheaper TR-60, catapulting the transistor radio into being the most popular consumer electronic through the 1970s.
Rise of FM Radio
Stereo sound begins FMs dominance
In 1961, the FCC approved the technical standards of stereophonic (stereo) sound. Though FM had been around for more than 30 years, it started to rise in popularity for a number of reasons: the AM band was increasingly crowded, sound quality of FM was superior to AM, FM stations could operate at night without changes to its signal strength, and in the mid-60s rules were changed that limited the amount of simulcasting between AM/FM co-owned stations.
For those about to rock…
By the late 1960s, FM stations transition from classical music to formats like progressive rock. This attracts a younger, more rebellious audience that doesn’t have the same loyalty as their parents to AM.
Stations like WBCN in Boston gain a reptuation of breaking new artists and create a new generation of radio listeners.
FM doesn’t look back
By the late 1970s FM stations outnumber AM stations in the United States. FM radio, due to its superior audio quality, dominates all musical genres.
AM becomes the home of news, sports, talk, religious, and many foreign-language programs.
Telecommunications Act of 1996 changes radio landscape
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 was first major telecommunciations overhaul since 1934, with a goal, primarily, of deregulation.
For radio, the major development was eliminating “a cap on nationwide radio station ownership and allow[ing] an entity to own up to four stations in a single market.” Consolidation of radio ownership happened quickly and continues to happen today. Proponents of consolidation cite increased competition from digital outlets and needing “economy of scale.” Opponents say fewer varied voices in broadcasting is bad for listeners.
Shock jocks push the envelope
There have always been people who push the envelope of decency, but radio “shock jocks” had the ability to entertain (and often offend) hundreds of thousands at once.
Wikipedia defines shock jocks as those “whose mannerisms, statements and actions are typically offensive to much of society.”
The term was first used in the mid-1980s when Howard Stern, the most famous of shock jocks, rose to fame in New York. Many a personality influenced by Stern also found success - personalities like Mancow, Opie and Anthony, and even conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh pushed the envelope to gain an audience.
We’re not going to link any sound clips or YouTube videos on this subject. Google it. But, not in school… and our lawyers say you should have your parents permission.
In popular culture
Radio has often been featured in popular music, and on television and film. TV series like WKRP in Cincinnati (1979-82), Cheers spinoff Frasier (1993-2004), and NewsRadio (1995-1999) all found commercial success.
Robin Williams starred in Good Morning, Vietnam in 1987, which told the story of Armed Forces Radio jock Adrian Cronauer and his entertaing the troops via radio in Vietnam.
All examples of radio’s powerful influence on pop culture!
You can’t be around radio long, especially around Thanksgiving, without seeing this clip from WKRP in Cincinatti.
21st century
Voicetracking adds flexibility
Voicetracking, is when a DJ pre-records their voice to be played at a specific time in a pre-programmed sequence such as at the beginning or end of a song. Voicetracking (or VT) gives listeners the illusion that a live DJ is in the studio at all times. In reality, DJs often wear many other hats and VT allows them to accomplish other aspects of their jobs. It also allows stations to maintain personality during overnights, weekends, or holidays.
Good voicetracking still brings entertainment, information, personality, and localism to the station.
HD Radio adds clarity, variety
HD Radio, a trademark for an in-band on-channel digital radio broadcast technology, often broadcasts along with a traditional analog radio signal. Vehicles or in-home radios that are equipped to receive HD signals experience less noise and interference, additional digital information like album art, artist, and song title, as well as HD sub-channels.
Sub-channels can carry any type of programming from sister station signals to completely different formats. Recently, when a station changes formats, the older formats music will find its way to an HD sub-channel. See: Alt 92.3 in New York, NY moving to HD-2 after news station 1010 WINS added an FM signal.
Not just over-the-air
While radio’s “bread and butter” is its free over-the-air signal, the internet has allowed broadcasters to increase its reach through internet streams, smartphone apps, and smart speakers like Amazon’s Echo. Listeners can now listen to their favorite stations in the office, on the go, and halfway across the world with a couple of clicks or a voice command. Soon, you’ll be able to say “Alexa, play the High School Radio Project!”
Radio is resilient.
Radio has had more than its fair share of competition since KDKA first went on the air in Pittsburgh in 1920.
From television’s rise in the 1950s, to physical media (records > 8-tracks > cassettes > CDs), satellite radio, mp3s, and now streaming outlets like Spotify and Pandora, radio has survived it all. Why?
A word you’ll hear broadcasters often use to describe their unique position in the media landscape is localism. Radio stations are based in the communities they serve. Their DJs shop at local stores. The GMs children go to local schools. The sales people get stuck in traffic where you get stuck in traffic.
As newspapers, another source of localism, dwindle, radio continues to be connected to their communties providing critical news, severe weather updates, political discussion, and of course music and entertainment. And all for free - for more than 100 years.
Fledgling cable network MTV (which used to stand for Music Television) launched with The Buggles “Video Killed the Radio Star” on Aug. 1, 1981. Ironically, radio outlasted MTV in the music business.